Accused killer gets private lawyer
NORRISTOWN » A Pottstown man awaiting trial in Montgomery County Court on charges he intentionally killed a 23-yearold woman, a former girlfriend who reportedly was seeking a paternity test and child support from him, has a new lawyer.
Bobbie Mitchell Jr. filed a petition seeking a court-appointed lawyer and on Thursday Judge Thomas C. Branca, the county’s criminal administrative judge, appointed lawyer Matthew W. Quigg to represent Mitchell.
The judge said the appointment of a private lawyer for Mitchell was necessary “due to the current caseload of the public defender’s office.” The public defender’s office currently is representing defendants in several other high-profile murderrelated cases.
Quigg, who joined the Lansdale area law firm of Rubin, Glickman, Steinberg and Gifford in September 2017, is a former county prosecutor who now focuses his practice on criminal defense and personal injury cases. As a prosecutor Quigg worked in the sex crimes and firearms units and also once served as a special assistant U.S. Attorney in federal court in Philadelphia.
Mitchell’s next court hearing on murder charges is his Aug. 15 formal arraignment.
Mitchell, 36, faces charges of first- and third-degree murder, possession of a prohibited firearm and possession of a weapon in connection with the Easter Sunday gunshot slaying of Siani Overby, 23, of Pottstown. Mitchell remains in the county jail without bail while awaiting trial.
A conviction of first-degree murder can carry sentences of life imprisonment or the death penalty. Prosecutors must reveal if they plan to seek the death penalty against Mitchell during the Aug. 15 arraignment hearing.
A conviction of third-degree murder, a killing committed with malice, carries a possible maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.
County Deputy District Attorney Samantha Cauffman is prosecuting the case.
The investigation began when Pottstown police responded to the 300 block of Johnson Street at 1:58 a.m. on April 1 for a report of a woman screaming and shots fired. Officers arrived to find Overby, suffering fatal wounds from multiple gunshots, lying on the sidewalk next to a fence.
Detectives found a cellphone next to the victim’s legs. It was later determined to belong to Mitchell and revealed text messages between Mitchell and the victim less than an hour before her murder, according to court papers. Video surveillance secured by detectives showed the victim being chased by a male, and the victim is heard screaming and pleading for her life during intermittent gunfire, according to detectives and prosecutors.
The victim’s mother allegedly told detectives that Mitchell was the father of the victim’s 18-month-old son and that her daughter was seeking a paternity test and child support from Mitchell.
Mitchell allegedly fled from the Pottstown area after the killing and was captured April 3 in Waterbury, Conn. Mitchell was arrested by members of the U.S. Marshall’s Fugitive Task Force and the Waterbury Police Department, according to court documents.